12032019-btd-01.qxd 3/11/2019 10:55 PM Page 1 c m y b Bathinda TRIBUNE COMMISSIONER OF RAILWAY SAFETY REVIEWS WORK PAGE 2 Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety visits the Bathinda railway station and reviews work of a railway line. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY EMERGENCY UNIT OF CIVIL HOSPITAL Biometric attendance machine lying defunct Tribune News Service Bathinda, March 11 The biometric attendance machine at the emergency unit of the Civil Hospital has been lying defunct for the past one month. Notably, the biometric attendance system was introduced at the Civil Hospital and other health centres two months ago. But barely after the installation of the system, the machine at the emergency unit stopped working. The district Health Department authorities have pasted a slip on the machine mentioning, “It is not working and the staff members can mark their attendance at the machine installed at the Civil Surgeon’s office”. As a result, the hospital staff have to visit the Civil Hospital’s office to mark their attendance every day. As the staff were not available to attend the patients in the morning, patients had to suffer a lot. They said staff members can mark their attendance later also. They added that at least someone must be present at the unit to attend to the patients. Senior Medical Officer, Dr Satish Goyal, said, “We have asked the person concerned, who had installed the machines at the Civil Hospital, to repair it. The machine will soon be repaired.” FUEL PRICES PETROL ~71.50 DIESEL ~65.35 WHAT’S ON BATHINDA POLIO CAMPAIGN: Last of three-day polio vaccination campaign by district Health Department MARTIN SENDS LOVE FOR ACTOR SHAH RUKH KHAN PAGE 3 PUNIT PATHAK WINS COLORS’ KHATRON KE KHILADI 9 Coldplay frontman Chris Martin admires Baadshah Shah Rukh Khan, and hopes his charm stays on forever. MAX 25°C | MIN 11°C | YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 13°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6:36 PM After 10 weeks of spine-tingling and emotional moments, Punit crowned the winner of Khatron Ke Khiladi 9 SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:43 AM SAD, Cong keep cards close to chest BATHINDA LS SEAT Speculations rife that sitting MP Harsimrat may move to Ferozepur Perneet Singh BOTH PARTIES YET TO ANNOUNCE CANDIDATES Tribune News Service Bathinda, March 11 Both the Congress and the SAD seem to have adopted a wait-and-watch approach over the selection of their candidates for the prestigious Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency amid speculations that Union minister and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal may shift to the Ferozepur seat in view of the sacrilege issue. Though Harsimrat has been quite active in her constituency since February 15 and holding small public meetings in different areas, she has not been forthcoming in her reply whenever the media asks about her candidature from Bathinda. “It is either the Almighty or the party high command who knows from where I would contest the elections. I will discharge my responsibilities diligently wherever the party asks me to,” this has been her standard response. Interestingly, recently she visited Jalalabad and Muktsar Assembly segments, both of these fall under the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat. Incidentally, Jalalabad is her husband Sukhbir Badal’s Assembly constituency. the party is actually waiting for the announcement of the Congress candidate from Bathinda. ■ Meanwhile, there is no clarity on the Congress candidate either. Initially, the names of Finance Minister Manpreet Badal and Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh were doing the rounds, but the former had already stated that neither he nor anyone from his family was keen to contest the Lok Sabha elections. HEALTH MINISTER’S SON APPLIES FOR TICKET ■ Prominent among those who have applied for the Congress ticket The SAD is keeping the cards close to its chest and if sources are to be believed, the party is actually waiting for the announcement of the Congress candidate from Bathinda. Meanwhile, there is no clarity on the Congress candidate either. Initially, the names of Finance Minister Manpreet Badal and Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder Singh were doing rounds, but the former had already stated that neither he nor anyone from his family was keen to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Both these leaders had con- 7 cases of paid news detected in Muktsar 2014 ELECTIONS Archit Watts Tribune News Service Muktsar, March 11 During the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) of Muktsar had detected seven cases of paid news in the district. Three notices each were served on Congress candidate Sunil Kumar Jakhar, SAD (Badal) candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya and one on AAP candidate Satnam Singh Kamboj, all contesting from the Ferozepur seat. The cost of the paid news item was accounted in their TUESDAY | 12 MARCH 2019 | BATHINDA Faridkot admn gears up for poll Tribune News Service ■ The SAD has not opened its cards and if sources are to be believed, Though Harsimrat has been holding small public meetings in her constituency, she has not cleared the air on her candidature from Bathinda in the coming Lok Sabha elections. TRIBUNE PHOTO NOTICES SERVED Three notices each were served on Congress candidate Sunil Kumar Jakhar, SAD (Badal) candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya and one on AAP candidate Satnam Singh Kamboj, all were contesting from the Ferozepur seat. election expenditure. The cost (~91,567) of paid news was accounted in the election expenditure of Sunil Kumar Jakhar. Similarly, the cost (~89,942) of the paid news was accounted in the election expenditure of Sher Singh Ghubaya. Continued on page 2 tested the Lok Sabha elections from the Bathinda seat in the past. Raninder had faced defeat at the hands of Harsimrat with a margin of around 1.2 lakh votes in 2009 while Manpreet gave her a tough fight and lost the poll by just over 19,000 votes in 2014. Former CPS Navjot Kaur Sidhu’s name had also come up, but she had been making her efforts for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat. Prominent among those who have applied for the Congress ticket from Bathinda are ex-Muktsar unit chief Gurmeet Singh from Bathinda are former Muktsar unit chief Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Health Minister Brahm Mohindra’s son Mohit Mohindra ■ Political observers feel that the SAD is comparatively better placed on the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat with two Assembly segments (Muktsar and Malout) of Badals’ home turf Muktsar falling under it. Khudian and Health Minister Brahm Mohindra’s son Mohit Mohindra. Political observers feel that the SAD is comparatively better placed on the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat with two Assembly segments (Muktsar and Malout) of Badals’ home turf Muktsar falling under it, though the party had lost from Malout in 2017 Assembly polls. The party’s ally BJP too holds considerable influence in the Abohar-Fazilka belt of the constituency. While Arun Narang of the BJP is MLA from Abohar, ex-minister Surjit Kumar Jiyani had lost Fazilka with a narrow margin of 265 votes in 2017. On the contrary, the SAD won only two of the 9 Assembly segments in the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat in 2017. Besides, the influence of AAP in Ferozepur is also less as compared to Bathinda where the party won 5 out of the 9 Assembly seats in 2017. The SAD may also gain in Ferozepur, if sitting MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, who recently joined the Congress, gets the Congress ticket, triggering discontent in the party. The voices of dissent are already emanating within the party over Ghubaya’s entry. Faridkot, March 11 To ensure smooth, free and fair conduct of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, District Election Officer Gurloveleen Singh Sidhu, who is also the Deputy Commissioner, on Monday convened meetings of administration officials, including police officers. He said nomination papers for the elections could be filed between April 22 and April 29. He added that the scrutiny of the papers will be made on April 30 and candidates could withdraw these by May 2. Sidhu said the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency had nine Assembly segments, spreading in four districts — Mansa to have pink polling booths Tribune News Service WHAT IS A PINK POLLING BOOTH Bathinda, March 11 Five pink polling booths will be set up in each Assembly constituency of Mansa district where only female voters will be able to cast their votes. The objective of these booths is to encourage women to come out of their homes and cast vote. Besides, five model polling booths each will be set up in all three constituencies. District Election Officer Apneet Riyait, who is also Deputy Commissioner, said this while addressing a meeting of political parties convened for the Lok Sabha elections. Mansa SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana was also present in the meeting. Mansa, Sardulgarh and Budhlada Assembly seats will have five pink polling booths each. On these polling booths, only female security officers and employees will be deputed. Each constituency will also have five model polling booths wherein services will be provided according to the instructions of the Election Commission. Mansa, Sardulgarh and Budhlada Assembly seats will have five pink polling booths each. On these polling booths, only female security officers and employees will be deputed. Each constituency will also have five model polling booths wherein services will be provided according to the instructions of the Election Commission. The District Election Officer added that the social media accounts of political candidates would also be monitored. All three Assembly segments of Mansa district come under the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat. Giving further information about the arrangements made for maintaining law and order during the elections, SSP Khurana said the Mansa police had already set up three interstate nakas and a total of 25 such nakas will be set up to check the borders. He said 65 per cent of the arms licence holders had already deposited their weapons while the rest had been asked to deposit the same at their nearest police station. Similarly, the police were keeping a strict vigil on the movement of liquor as well, the SSP said. Addressing representatives of various political parties, the District Election Officer and SSP Khurana said permission for using loudspeakers and holding rallies had to be taken by applying for the same on the Suwidha app. “If any political party holds a political activity without permission, action will be taken as per the law,” they said. Both officers also appealed to the representatives of polit- Sameer Singh given drops on Day 2 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Bathinda, March 11 A day after the MC carried out an anti-encroachment drive outside the District Courts Complex, owners of vends and shops, along with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers, staged a protest here on Monday. They also raised slogans against the administration and the state government. A number of shop owners gathered at the venue where the drive was carried out and started searching their items which are either believed to be buried under the debris or taken away by the authorities. Darshan Singh (65), who had a paratha stall for past over 40 years, said, “I have been selling paranthas for more than four decades now. Nobody asked me to remove my vend, but on Sunday, without even informing me or sending any prior notice, my stall was removed. Benches and counters are missing. The stall was my bread and Bathinda, March 11 As many as 48,467 children in the age group till 5 years were administered polio drops on the second day of the three-day pulse polio campaign in the district on Monday. Apart from the booth-level activity, officials of the district Health Department laid specific emphasis on the door-to-door activity on the second day so that no child is left out. Moreover, mobile teams administered polio drops to children at brick kilns, construction sites and factories. Besides, children of labourers working on roads also received drops. Transit teams near the city bus stand and the railway station also administered polio drops to children. District Immunisation Officer Dr Kundan Kumar Say action taken without giving prior notice, demand compensation from the administration Advocates raise slogans; and (right) AAP workers protest against the anti-encroachment drive in Bathinda on Monday. VIJAY KUMAR “The administration deliberately planned the antiencroachment drive on a holiday and no notice or prior intimation was given to the shop and stall owners. The law must be equal for everybody and the administration must identify and ensure similar action against the influential lot encroaching upon government land. These are poor people who earn livelihood by working at these stalls on a daily basis.” Jeeda, who is an advocate Moga, Nihal Singh Wala, Baghapurana and Dharamkot were in Moga district; Faridkot, Jaito and Kotkapura Assembly segments in Faridkot district; and Gidderbaha and Rampura Phul constituency in Muktsar and Bathinda districts, respectively. He said a total of 1,613 polling stations at 926 locations would be set up in the Faridkot parliamentary constituency on the polling day. The District Election Officer said on January 31, a total of 15,15,062 voters — 8,02,530 male and 7,12,494 female — were registered in this parliamentary constituency. Flying squads, static surveillance and video surveillance teams will be formed in every Assembly segment. District Election Officer Gurloveleen Singh holds a meeting of officials in Faridkot on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Vend, stall owners protest anti-encroachment drive Over 48K children butter. The government must provide us a place where we can start our work again.” Punya Devi (62), said, “I could not find my sewing machine and gas cylinders at the site. The administration could have given us a few hours to shift our infrastructure and equipment from the site. We want compensation for the damages caused by the administration and employment for survival.” AAP district president Navdeep Singh Jeeda, said, PAGE 4 and former president of District Bar Association, said, “To mark a protest, we have decided not to work on Monday and will stage a protest on Tuesday. If the administration does not provide compensation to the affected people for the damages caused due to the demolition drive, we will intensify our stir.” Advocates take out march Meanwhile, a large number of advocates carried out a protest march from outside the c m y b Dsitrict Courts Complex to the SSP office and raised slogans against police officers and administration officials. Later, the advocates reached the district administrative complex and again raised slogans demanding compensation for the damages caused to the advocates, typists and notary operators. They also demanded that a designated place must be proved them from where they could work. PULSE POLIO CAMPAIGN OFFICIALS STRESS ON DOOR-TO-DOOR ACTIVITY ■ Apart from the booth-level activity, officials of the district Health Department laid specific emphasis on the door-to-door activity on the second day so that no child is left out. ■ Moreover, mobile teams administered polio drops to children at brick kilns, construction sites and factories. Besides, children of labourers working on roads also received polio drops. Pal visited different areas in the district and reviewed the activities of the immunisation campaign. The District Immunisation Officer exhorted residents of the district to administer polio drops to their children to keep the polio virus at bay. ical parties to participate in every meeting of the district administration to be convened on the elections so that the poll could be conducted in a transparent manner. Riyait said, “No government employee or officer will get any leave till the elections are over. If anyone seeks leave on medical grounds, he or she will have to submit a certificate provided by the Civil Surgeon.” ADC (G) Rajdeep Singh Brar, ADC (D) Gurmeet Singh Sidhu, Assistant Commissioner Navdeep Kumar, Mansa SDM Abhijeet Kaplish, Sardulgarh SDM Latif Ahmed, Budhlada SDM Aditya Dhachwal and SP (H) Major Singh were present in the meeting. 3.4 quintal of poppy husk recovered Khanna, March 11 The police today claimed to have arrested two persons after recovering 3.4 quintals of poppy husk from their truck. They have been identified as Sarabjit Singh, alias Gora, of Rampur Chhanna in Sangrur district, and Harbans Singh, of Toderpur village in Patiala district. Khanna SSP Dhruv Dahiya said a police party manning a naka at the T-point near Kamma village got a tip-off that poppy husk was being smuggled in a truck. The police signalled a truck coming from the Bhumaddi village side to stop. The police recovered 3.4 quintal of poppy husk from the truck and arrested its occupants under Section 15/61/85 of the NDPS Act. The police also impounded the truck. During preliminary investigation, the suspects said they brought this consignment from MP and were going towards Samana to sell it. — OC

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